Evaporator

ABSTRACT

A second fin  27  is disposed outside a refrigerant passing body  2  positioned at one side end of a heat exchange core  4  where a refrigerant inlet  14  and a refrigerant outlet  15  are provided. A side plate  26  is disposed externally of the second fin  27.  The second fin  27  and the side plate  26  have respective upper ends so positioned as to permit an upper portion outer surface of the refrigerant passing body  2  to be exposed. A refrigerant inflow member  16  and a refrigerant outflow member  17  are arranged on the refrigerant passing body  2  at an external portion thereof above the second fin  27  and the side plate  26,  and the inflow member  16  is connected to the inlet  14,  and the outflow member  17  is connected to the outlet  15.  The inflow member  16  and the outflow member  17  have respective outer side faces positioned within an upward extension of the plane of outer side face of the side plate  26  or inwardly of the extension. The evaporator  1  can be housed in a case C without leaving any useless space therein, and the case C can therefore be made smaller in size.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is an application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a)claiming the benefit pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e)(1) of the filing dateof Provisional Application No. 60/529,572 filed Dec. 16, 2003 pursuantto 35 U.S.C. §111(b).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to evaporators for use in motor vehicleair conditioners which are refrigeration cycles to be installed in motorvehicles.

The term “aluminum” as used herein and in the appended claims includesaluminum alloys in addition to pure aluminum. The downstream side (thedirection indicated by the arrow X in FIGS. 1 and 10, the upper side ofFIG. 2, and the right-hand side of FIG. 11) of the air to be passedthrough the air flow clearance between each adjacent pair of heatexchange tubes will be referred to herein and in the appended claims as“front,” and the opposite side as “rear.” Further the upper and lowersides of FIGS. 1 and 10 will be referred to as “upper” and “lower,”respectively. The terms “front,” “rear,” “upper” and “lower” are thusdefined for the sake of convenience, “front” and “rear,” as well as“upper” and “lower,” may be used as replaced by each other.

BACKGROUND ART

Evaporators of the stacked plate type have found wide use in motorvehicle air conditioners. Such an evaporator comprises a heat exchangecore having a plurality of flat refrigerant passing bodies arranged inparallel with their widths oriented in a front-rear direction andcorrugated fins arranged between respective adjacent pairs ofrefrigerant passing bodies, and a refrigerant inlet header and arefrigerant outlet header positioned on the upper side of the heatexchange core and arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. Theevaporator has a plurality of flat hollow bodies each comprising twovertically elongated rectangular plates brazed to each other alongperipheral edges thereof and having bulging refrigerant passagewayportions and bulging header forming portions continuous with oppositeends of the passageway portions, the flat hollow bodies being arrangedside by side with opposed outer faces of corresponding header formingportions in contact with each other, the corresponding header formingportions of each adjacent pair of flat hollow bodies being joined toeach other at their outer faces, the refrigerant passing bodies of theheat exchange core being provided by the passageway portions of the flathollow bodies, the inlet header and the outlet header being provided bythe corresponding header forming portions of the flat hollow bodies, theinlet header and the outlet header having a refrigerant inlet and arefrigerant outlet respectively, louvered corrugated fins being arrangedrespective adjacent pairs of refrigerant passing bodies and each brazedto the refrigerant passing bodies adjacent thereto.

With such evaporators of the stacked plate type, the inlet of the inletheader and the outlet of the outlet header are provided respectively atthe widthwise opposite ends of the heat exchange core or at one end ofthe core. In either case, the evaporator is used as housed in a case inthe vehicle compartment.

As an evaporator of the stacked plate type wherein the refrigerant inletof the inlet header and the refrigerant outlet of the outlet header areprovided respectively at widthwise opposite ends of the heat exchangecore, already known is an evaporator having a corrugated fin brazed tothe outer side surface of an end refrigerant passing body positioned ateach of opposite ends of a heat exchange core, a side plate brazed tothe outer side of the corrugated fin, a refrigerant inflow memberextending in the front-rear direction and connected to the inlet abovethe side plate at one core end, and a refrigerant outflow memberextending in the front-rear direction and connected to the outlet abovethe side plate at the other core end. The inflow member and the outflowmember are each in the form of a tube having a square or rectangularcross section, open at one end and closed at the other end and are eachprovided with a pipe joint opening at the open end. The inflow memberand the outflow member are connected, each at one side wall thereof, tothe inlet and the outlet, respectively, and have an inlet pipe and anoutlet pipe connected to their respective pipe joint openings. Each ofthe inflow and outflow members has an outer side face positioned withinan upward extension of the plane of outer side surface of the side plateor inwardly of the extension (see the publication of JP-A No. 7-190560).

On the other hand, known as an evaporator of the stacked plate typewherein the refrigerant inlet of the inlet header and the refrigerantoutlet of the outlet header are provided at the same one end of the heatexchange core with respect to the widthwise direction thereof is anevaporator which has an end plate joined to the outer side of arefrigerant passing body at one end of a heat exchange core where arefrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet are provided, the end platehaving joined thereto a block joint provided with two communicationopenings communicating respectively with the inlet and the outlet, aninlet pipe and an outlet pipe being attached by a piping block joint tothe block joint so as to communicate with the respective communicationopenings (see the publication of JP-A No. 8-14702).

Reduced weight is required of stacked plate-type evaporators from theviewpoint of improvements in the fuel cost of motor vehicles andenvironmental reasons, while such evaporators must be compacted and needto be housed in a case of reduced size from the viewpoint of assuringthe vehicle compartment of an enlarged space to give comfort althoughthe vehicles are limited in size.

The evaporators of the stacked plate type wherein the refrigerant inletof the inlet header and the refrigerant outlet of the outlet header areprovided respectively at widthwise opposite ends of the heat exchangecore include those having an overall width which is equal to the widthof the heat exchange core as disclosed in the publication of JP-A No.7-190560. In this case, the evaporator can be accommodated in a casewithout creating any useless space inside the case, and if theevaporator is compacted, the case can be made smaller in size.

However, with evaporators of the stacked plate type wherein therefrigerant inlet of the inlet header and the refrigerant outlet of theoutlet header are provided at the same one end of the heat exchange corewith respect to the widthwise direction thereof, the block joint and thepiping block joint are provided as outwardly projected from the heatexchange core as disclosed in the publication of JP-A No. 8-14702.Furthermore, the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe attached to the pipingblock joint are made to extend laterally outwardly of the core once andthen bent forward or rearward. Accordingly, when the evaporator ishoused in a case, useless space exists inside the case, with the resultthat even if the evaporator is compacted, the case can not be madesmall-sized. Moreover, air will pass through the useless space,permitting uncooled air to flow into the vehicle compartment to entail alower refrigeration efficiency. To preclude the impairment of coolingefficiency, the space needs to be blocked up with a heat insulatingmaterial, whereas this leads to an increased material cost and requiresa cumbersome procedure. The block joint and piping block joint necessaryfor connecting the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe to the inlet and theoutlet increase the number of components while making the inlet pipe andthe outlet pipe complex in shape. If the inlet pipe and the outlet pipebecome complex in shape, the bent portions will have a diminished radiusof curvature to give a reduced cross sectional area to the flow channel,consequently entailing an increased refrigerant pressure loss to resultin impaired heat exchange performance.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above problems andto provide an evaporator wherein the refrigerant inlet of the inletheader and the refrigerant outlet of the outlet header are formed at thesame one end of the heat exchange core with respect to the widthwisedirection thereof and which can be housed in a case without creating anyuseless space inside the case so that the case can be made smaller insize.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

1) An evaporator comprising a heat exchange core having a plurality offlat refrigerant passing bodies arranged in parallel at a spacing withtheir widths oriented in a front-rear direction and first corrugatedfins arranged between respective adjacent pairs of refrigerant passingbodies, and a refrigerant inlet header and a refrigerant outlet headerarranged on the upper side of the heat exchange core side by side in thefront-rear direction and each having at least one end positioned at awidthwise outer end of the heat exchange core, the inlet header having arefrigerant inlet at said one end thereof positioned at the widthwiseouter end of the heat exchange core, the outlet header having arefrigerant outlet at said one end alongside the inlet, a second finbeing disposed outside the refrigerant passing body positioned at saidwidthwise outer end of the heat exchange core, a side plate beingdisposed externally of the second fin, the evaporator being so adaptedthat a refrigerant flows into the inlet header through the inlet,returns to the outlet header after flowing through all the refrigerantpassing bodies and is sent out from the outlet,

the second fin and the side plate having respective upper ends sopositioned as to permit an upper portion outer surface of the core-endrefrigerant passing body to be exposed, a refrigerant inflow member anda refrigerant outflow member being arranged on the core-end refrigerantpassing body at an external portion thereof above the second fin and theside plate, the inflow member being connected to the inlet of the inletheader, the outflow member being connected to the outlet of the outletheader, the inflow member and the outflow member having respective outerside faces positioned laterally externally of the heat exchange core andpositioned within an upward extension of the plane of an outer side faceof the side plate or inwardly of the extension.

2) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein the inflow member and theoutflow member each comprise a tube which is open at one end and closedat the other end and has a pipe joint opening at the open end, and theinflow member and the outflow member are connected, each at a peripheralwall portion thereof toward the closed end, to the inlet of the inletheader and the outlet of the outlet header respectively.

3) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein an outwardly projectingflange is formed around each of the inlet of the inlet header and theoutlet of the outlet header, and the inflow member and the outflowmember are joined respectively to the inlet header and the outlet headerwith the flange fitted in a through hole formed in a peripheral wall ofeach of the inflow member and the outflow member.

4) An evaporator according to par. 3) wherein the inlet of the inletheader and the outlet of the outlet header are each oblong, and thethrough hole formed in the peripheral wall of each of the inflow memberand the outflow member is an oblong hole for the flange around each ofthe inlet and the outlet to fit in.

5) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein one of the inflow memberand the outflow member which is positioned in front of the other extendsforward from a closed end thereof, and the other member extends forwardfrom a closed end thereof as bent to clear said one member in front.

6) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein one of the inflow memberand the outflow member which is positioned in front of the other extendsforward straight from a closed end thereof, and the other member iscurved downwardly forward from a closed end thereof and has an outer endextending straight forward.

7) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein the side plate is providedat the upper end thereof with a portion bent toward the refrigerantpassing body, and the inflow member and the outflow member arerectangular in cross section and have their outer side faces positionedwithin the upward extension of the plane of the outer side face of theside plate, a covering member being provided for closing a space betweenthe upper-end bent portion of the side plate and a lower end of one ofthe inflow member and the outflow member which is positioned in the rearof the other when the space is seen from the front.

8) An evaporator according to par. 7) wherein the side plate has anupward bent portion integral with a free end of the bent portion, andthe covering member is provided integrally with at least one of frontand rear side edges of the upward bent portion.

9) An evaporator according to par. 1) which comprises a plurality offlat hollow bodies each comprising two vertically elongated rectangularplates brazed to each other along peripheral edges thereof and havingbulging refrigerant passageway portions and bulging header formingportions continuous with opposite ends of the passageway portions of theplates, the flat hollow bodies being arranged side by side with opposedouter faces of corresponding header forming portions in contact witheach other, the corresponding header forming portions of each adjacentpair of flat hollow bodies being joined to each other at their outerfaces, the refrigerant passing bodies of the heat exchange core beingprovided by the passageway portions of the flat hollow bodies.

10) An evaporator according to par. 9) wherein the plurality of flathollow bodies are arranged in succession from the widthwise outer end ofthe heat exchange core and have bulging header forming portionsproviding the inlet header and the outlet header.

11) An evaporator according to par. 1) wherein each of the refrigerantpassing bodies of the heat exchange core comprises a tube having aplurality of parallel refrigerant channels.

12) An evaporator according to par. 11) which comprises a plurality ofintermediate headers in addition to the inlet header and the outletheader, and two tube groups each comprising refrigerant passing bodiesarranged at a spacing in at least one row are arranged respectivelybetween the inlet header and one of the intermediate headers opposedthereto and between the outlet header and another one of theintermediate headers opposed thereto, the refrigerant passing bodies ofeach of the tube groups having opposite ends joined to the respectivecorresponding headers opposed to each other.

13) An evaporator according to par. 12) wherein the inlet header and theoutlet header are provided by dividing interior of a refrigerantinlet-outlet tank into front and rear two portions by a partition wall.

14) An evaporator according to par. 13) wherein the inlet-outlet tankcomprises a first member having the refrigerant passing bodies joinedthereto, a second member brazed to the first member at a portion thereofopposite to the refrigerant passing bodies, and caps brazed torespective opposite ends of the first and second members, the partitionwall being integral with the second member, one of the caps beingprovided with the inlet and the outlet.

15) A refrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser and anevaporator, the evaporator being an evaporator according to any one ofpar. 1) to 14).

16) A vehicle having installed therein a refrigeration cycle accordingto par. 15) as an air conditioner.

With the evaporator described in par. 1), the upper ends of the secondfin and the side plate are so positioned as to expose the upper portionouter side surface of the core-end refrigerant passing body, and therefrigerant inflow and outflow members are positioned at an externalportion of the end refrigerant passing body above the second fin and theside plate, are connected respectively to the inlet of the inlet headerand the outlet of the outlet header and have respective outer side facespositioned laterally externally of the core and positioned within, orinwardly of, an upward extension of the plane of outer side face of theside plate. Accordingly, the width of the heat exchange core is theoverall width of the evaporator. Consequently the evaporator can behoused in a case without leaving any useless space inside the case, andif the evaporator is compacted, the case can be made smaller in size.This makes it possible to give an enlarged space to the vehiclecompartment to ensure comfort although the vehicle is limited in size.

With the evaporator described in par. 2), the inflow member and theoutflow member are each in the form of a tube open at one end and closedat the other end, each have a pipe joint opening at the open end, andare connected, each at a peripheral wall portion thereof toward theclosed end, to the inlet of the inlet header and the outlet of theoutlet header respectively. For this reason, the inlet pipe and theoutlet pipe to be connected to the respective pipe joint openings of theinflow and outflow members can be of a relatively simple shape. As aresult, the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe can be of bent portions ofrelatively great radius of curvature, have no reduction in the crosssectional area of the flow channel to diminish the pressure loss of therefrigerant, permitting the evaporator to exhibit the desired heatexchange performance free of impairment.

With the evaporator described in par. 3), the inflow member and theoutflow member can be connected respectively to the inlet of the inletheader and the outlet of the outlet header reliably.

With the evaporator described in par. 4), the inflow member and theoutflow member are prevented from rotating and can be positioned inplace reliably.

With the evaporator described in par. 5), interference is avoidablebetween the inflow member and the outflow member.

With the evaporator described in par. 6), the inlet pipe and the outletpipe to be connected to the respective pipe joint openings of the inflowand outflow members can be of a relatively simple shape, e.g., can be inthe form of a straight pipe. This gives a relatively great radius ofcurvature to the bent portions of the inlet pipe and outlet pipe toresult in no reduction in the flow channel cross sectional area and adiminished refrigerant pressure loss, preventing the impairment of heatexchange performance.

When the evaporator describe in par. 7) is housed in a case, air isprevented from flowing inside the case around the evaporator. Thisgreatly reduces the amount of air not passing through the heat exchangecore to preclude the impairment of refrigeration efficiency. Moreover,there is no need to block clearances inside the case around theevaporator with a heat insulating material, and therefore no need forsuch a procedure to result in a lower material cost.

The evaporator described in par. 8) can be provided with the coveringmember easily.

With the evaporator described in par. 9), the width of the heat exchangecore is variable easily by varying the number of vertically elongatedrectangular metal plates, i.e. the number of flat hollow bodies.

The evaporator described in par. 13) can be reduced in the number ofcomponents in its entirety.

With the evaporator described in par. 14), the partition wall of theinlet-outlet tank is integral with the second member and can thereforebe provided inside the tank by facilitated work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall construction of anevaporator of Embodiment 1 of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view in cross section of refrigerant passageways of a flathollow body for use in the evaporator in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the flat hollow body for usein the evaporator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a flat hollow body at theright end, a refrigerant inflow member, a refrigerant outflow member,and a side plate.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing aluminum plates for making a flathollow body different from those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a flat hollow bodydifferent from those shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing how a refrigerant flows through theevaporator of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view partly broken away and showing the overallconstruction of an evaporator of Embodiment 2 of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view in vertical section showing the evaporatorof FIG. 10 as it is seen from one side.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1

This embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show the overall construction of the evaporator of theembodiment, and FIGS. 4 to 8 show the constructions of the main portionsthereof. FIG. 9 shows the flow of a refrigerant through the evaporatorof the embodiment. In the description of Embodiment 1, the left- andright-hand sides of FIGS. 2 and 3 will be referred to as “left” and“right.”

With reference to FIG. 1, the evaporator 1 is of the stacked plate typeand comprises a heat exchange core 4 having a plurality of flatrefrigerant passing bodies 2 arranged in parallel with their widthspointing toward the front-rear direction and first corrugated aluminumfins 3 arranged between respective adjacent pairs of refrigerant passingbodies, a refrigerant inlet header 5 provided at a right front portionon the upper side of the heat exchange core 4 and extending in theleft-right direction, i.e., laterally of the evaporator, a refrigerantoutlet header 6 provided in the rear of and alongside the inlet header 5and extending laterally of the evaporator, a first intermediate header 7disposed under the heat exchange core 4, opposed to the inlet header 5and extending laterally of the evaporator, a second intermediate header8 extending leftward from the first intermediate header 7 laterally ofthe evaporator, a third intermediate header 9 disposed on the upper sideof the core 4, opposed to the second intermediate header 8 and extendingleftward from the inlet header 5 laterally of the evaporator, a fourthintermediate header 10 disposed in the rear of and alongside the thirdintermediate header 9 and extending leftward from the outlet header 6laterally of the evaporator, a fifth intermediate header 11 disposedunder the core 4, opposed to the fourth intermediate header 10 andextending laterally of the evaporator, and a sixth intermediate header12 extending rightward from the fifth intermediate header 11 laterallyof the evaporator and opposed to the outlet header 6 (see FIG. 9).Through the refrigerant passing bodies 2 of the heat exchange core 4,the inlet header 5 communicates with the first intermediate header 7,the second intermediate header 8 with the third intermediate header 9,the fourth intermediate header 10 with the fifth intermediate header 11,and the sixth intermediate header 12 with the outlet header 6.

The inlet header 5 has a refrigerant inlet 14 at its right end, and theoutlet header 6 has a refrigerant outlet 15 at is right end. Arefrigerant inflow aluminum member 16 is connected to the inlet 15, anda refrigerant outflow aluminum member 17 to the outlet 15.

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of flat hollow bodies 19,19A, 19B, 19C, 19D, each comprising two vertically elongated rectangularaluminum plates 18, 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D brazed to each other, arearranged side by side laterally of the evaporator and joined to oneanother into an assembly to provide all the refrigerant passing bodies 2of the heat exchange core 4 and all the headers 5 to 12. Each of thealuminum plates 18, 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D comprises an aluminum brazingsheet having a brazing material layer over opposite surfaces thereof.Formed between each pair of aluminum plates 18, 18A, 18B, 18C, 18Dproviding each flat hollow body 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D are front andrear two bulging refrigerant passageways 21, 22 extending vertically.The pair of aluminum plates have bulging header forming portions 23, 24continuous with the upper and lower ends of the plate portions definingthe respective passageways 21, 22. A corrugated inner aluminum fin 25 isdisposed in both the front and rear passageways 21, 22 of each flathollow body 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D and blazed to the pair of aluminumplates 18, 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D. Alternatively, two corrugated inneraluminum fins may be provided in the respective passageways 21, 22.

The header forming portions 23, 24 of the flat hollow body 19, 19A, 19B,19C, 19D have a larger left-to-right thickness than the passageways 21,22. Each adjacent pair of hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D arebrazed to each other at the outer faces of the header forming portions23, 24 thereof. The portions of the hollow body 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19Dforming the passageways 21, 22 provide the refrigerant passing body 2 ofthe heat exchange core 4, and the upper and lower front header formingportions 23 of the hollow body form the inlet header 5 or the thirdintermediate header 9, and the first or second intermediate header 7 or8. Similarly, the upper and lower rear header forming portions 24 of thehollow body form the outlet header 6 or the fourth intermediate header10, and the fifth or sixth intermediate header 11 or 12.

The passageway-defining portions of each adjacent pair of flat hollowbodies 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D form an air flow clearance therebetween.The first corrugated fin 3, which has crest portions and furrow portionsextending in the front-rear direction, is provided in the air flowclearance and brazed to the pair of hollow bodies. The flat hollow body19A at the right end is provided on the outer side thereof other than anupper portion thereof with a side plate 26 as spaced from the hollowbody 19A, and the side plate 26 and the hollow body 19A also form an airflow clearance therebetween. A second corrugated fin 27 having crestportions and furrow portions which extend in the front-rear direction isprovided in this air flow clearance and brazed to the hollow body 19Aand the side plate 26. The side plate 26 comprises an aluminum brazingsheet having brazing material layer over opposite surfaces thereof. Theside plate 26 and the fin 27 have upper ends positioned below the inletheader 5 and the outlet header 6, permitting the outer side surface(right side surface) of the hollow body 19A at the right end to bepartly left exposed.

The flat hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D include hollow bodies 19Aat the left and right ends of the evaporator 1. The inlet header 5,outlet header 6, first intermediate header 7, sixth intermediate header12 and right side portion of the heat exchange core 4 are provided byhollow bodies 19, 19A, 19B, which include a hollow body 19B at the leftend of the right side core portion. The second to fifth intermediateheaders 8 to 11 and the left side portion of the core 4 are provided byflat hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19C, 19D, which include a hollow body 19C atthe right end of the left side core portion, and a plurality of hollowbodies 19D, i.e., two hollow bodies 19D, arranged side by side at theleftward core portion. FIG. 5 shows the construction of the flat hollowbodies 19 other than the hollow bodies 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D. As shown inFIG. 5, the right aluminum plate 18 making each hollow body 19 has frontand rear two tube forming bulging portions 28 extending vertically, andfour header forming bulging portions 29 integral with the upper or lowerends of the portions 28 and having a greater bulging height than theseportions 28. Each header forming bulging portion 29 has a top wallprovided with a through hole 31. The through holes 31 in the top wallsof the upper rear and lower front header forming bulging portions 29 areeach surrounded or defined by a flange 32 projecting rightward andintegral with the portion 29. The left aluminum plate 18 making thehollow body 19 is in a reversed relation with the right aluminum platewith respect to the left-right direction, and like parts of these twoplates will be designated by like reference numerals. The flat hollowbody 19 is made by arranging the two aluminum plates 18 in combination,with each corresponding pair of openings of the bulging portions 28, 29opposed to each other, and with an inner fin 25 interposed between theplates 18, and brazing the arrangement. Each adjacent pair of flathollow bodies 19 are brazed to each other at the opposed outer faces ofthe header forming portions 23, 24, with the flanges 32 of one of thebodies 19 fitted into the through bores 31 of the other hollow body 19,whereby the header forming portions 23, 24 of the adjacent pair ofhollow bodies 19 are held in communication in corresponding relationrespectively.

FIG. 6 shows the construction of the flat hollow body 19A at the rightend. As shown in FIG. 6, the right-end hollow body 19A comprises a rightaluminum plate 18A having header forming bulging portions 29A which areall equal to tube forming bulging portions 28 thereof in bulging height.The right aluminum plate 18A has lower two header forming bulgingportions 29A which are provided with no through hole in their top walls.The right aluminum plate 18A further has an upper front header formingbulging portion 29A, which is provided with the refrigerant inlet 14formed in its top wall. The inlet 14 is in the form of an oblong throughhole elongated in the front-rear direction. The aluminum plate 18A hasan upper rear header forming bulging portion 29A, which is provided withthe refrigerant outlet 15 formed in its top wall. The outlet 15 is inthe form of an oblong through hole elongated in an upwardly rearwarddirection as inclined from a vertical. The refrigerant inlet 14 andoutlet 15 in the top walls of the header forming bulging portions 29Aare surrounded by respective flanges 33, 34 projecting rightward andeach integral with the bulging portion 29A. Although not shown, the flathollow body 19A at the left end has the same construction as theright-end hollow body 19A except that all header forming bulgingportions 29A thereof have no through hole formed in their top walls, andis positioned as reversed with respect to the left-right direction. Withexception of the features described above, the flat hollow bodies 19A atthe left and right ends have the same construction as the flat hollowbody 19 shown in FIG. 5. Like each adjacent pair of flat hollow bodies19 which are brazed to each other at the header forming portions 23, 24,the laterally inwardly facing faces of the header forming portions 23,24 are brazed to the outer faces of the respective header formingportions 23, 24 of the hollow body 19 which is positioned laterallyinwardly of and adjacent to the hollow body 19A, whereby the headerforming portions 23, 24 of the adjacent pair of hollow bodies 19A, 19are held in communication in corresponding relation respectively.

While the inlet header 5, outlet header 6, first intermediate header 7,sixth intermediate header 12 and right side portion of the heat exchangecore 4 are provided by hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19B, the hollow body 19Bpositioned at the left end of the right side core portion and includedamong portions 23, 24, the left side faces of the header formingportions 23, 24 are brazed to the outer faces of the respective headerforming portions 23, 24 of the hollow body 19 which is positioned on theleft side of and adjacent to the hollow body 19C, whereby the headerforming portions 23, 24 of the adjacent pair of hollow bodies 19C, 19are held in communication in corresponding relation respectively.

Further like the adjacent pair of flat hollow bodies 19 which are brazedto each other at the header forming portions 23, 24, the flat hollowbody 19B and the flat hollow body 19C are brazed to each other at theopposed outer faces of their header forming portions 23, 24, whereasthese hollow bodies 19B, 19C are not in communication between each ofthe corresponding pairs of upper header forming portions 23, 24.

The second to fifth intermediate headers 8 to 11 are provided by theflat hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19C, 19D, which include a plurality of,i.e., two, flat hollow bodies 19D which are arranged side by side at aleft side portion of the evaporator. FIG. 8 shows the construction ofthe hollow body 19D. With reference to FIG. 8, the hollow body 19Dcomprises a right aluminum plate 18D having upper two header formingbulging portions 29, between which the aluminum plate 18D is bulged tothe same height as the bulging portions 29 to provide a communicationbulging portion 35. The two header forming bulging portions 29 are heldin communication with each other by the bulging portion 35. The flathollow body 19D further comprises a left aluminum plate 18D, which is ina reverse relation with the right aluminum plate 18D with respect tothese hollow bodies has a left aluminum plate 18B. The second to fifthintermediate headers 8 to 11 and the left side portion of the core 4 areprovided by flat hollow bodies 19, 19A, 19C, 19D, and the hollow body19C positioned at the right end of the left side core portion andincluded among these hollow bodies has a right aluminum plate 18C. Theleft and right aluminum plates 18B and 18C are shown in FIG. 7.

With reference to FIG. 7, the left aluminum plate 18B has an upper frontheader forming bulging portion 29B which is provided with no throughhole in its top wall. With the exception of this feature, the flathollow body 19B has the same construction as the hollow body 19 shown inFIG. 5. Like each adjacent pair of flat hollow bodies 19 which arebrazed to each other at the header forming portions 23, 24, the rightside faces of the header forming portions 23, 24 are brazed to the outerfaces of the respective header forming portions 23, 24 of the hollowbody 19 which is positioned on the right side of and adjacent to thehollow body 19B, whereby the header forming portions 23, 24 of theadjacent pair of hollow bodies 19B, 19 are held in communication incorresponding relation respectively. The right aluminum plate 18C is ina reverse relation with the left aluminum plate 18B with respect to theleft-right direction, and has an upper rear header forming bulgingportion 29C which is provided with no through hole in its top wall. Withthe exception of this feature, the flat hollow body 19C has the sameconstruction as the hollow body 19 shown in FIG. 5. Like each adjacentpair of flat hollow bodies 19 which are brazed to each other at theheader forming the left-right direction. With respect to these left andright plates 18D, like parts are designated by like reference numerals.With the exception of the above feature, the flat hollow body 19D hasthe same construction as the hollow body 19 shown in FIG. 5. Like theadjacent pair of flat hollow bodies 19 which are brazed to each other atthe header forming portions 23, 24, these hollow bodies 19D are brazedto each other and the hollow portion 19D is brazed to the hollow body 19adjacent thereto at the opposed outer side faces of the header formingportions 23, 24. Accordingly, the third intermediate header 9 is held incommunication with the fourth intermediate header 10 by communicationbulging portions 35.

With reference to FIG. 6, the refrigerant inflow member 16 is in theform of a rectangular tube having a rectangular cross section, and isopen at one end and closed at the other end. The inflow member 16extends forward straight from a side end portion of the refrigerantinlet 14 and is projected forward beyond the heat exchange core 4. Theinflow member 16 has an open end portion which is deformed to a circularcross section over a predetermined length to provide a pipe jointopening 36 for connection to a refrigerant inlet pipe (not shown). Theinflow member 16 has a left side wall having an oblong through hole 37positioned toward the closed end and elongated in the front-reardirection. The inflow member 16 is brazed to the flat hollow body 19Autilizing the brazing material layer of the aluminum plate 18A, with theflange 33 around the refrigerant inlet 14 fitted in the through hole 37.

The refrigerant outflow member 17 is in the form of a rectangular tubehaving a rectangular cross section, and is open at one end and closed atthe other end. To clear the inflow member 16, the outflow member 17 iscurved downwardly forward from a side end portion of the refrigerantoutlet 15 and has an outer end extending forward straight and projectingforward beyond the heat exchange core 4. Alternatively, the outflowmember 17 may extend downward straight from the side end portion of theoutlet 15, is then bent at a right angle to provide an outer end portionextending forward straight and projecting forward beyond the core 4. Theportion of the outflow member 17 projecting forward beyond the core 4 isentirely straight and extends straight forward. The outflow member 17has an open end portion which is deformed to a circular cross sectionover a predetermined length to provide a pipe joint opening 38 forconnection to a refrigerant outlet pipe (not shown). The outflow member17 has a left side wall having an oblong through hole 39 positionedtoward the closed end and elongated in an upwardly rearward obliquedirection slanting with respect to a vertical. The outflow member 17 isbrazed to the flat hollow body 19A utilizing the brazing material layerof the aluminum plate 18A, with the flange 34 around the refrigerantoutlet 15 fitted in the through hole 39. The outflow member 17 is equalto the inflow member 16 in left-to-right thickness.

The side plate 26 is positioned below the refrigerant outflow member 17.The side plate 26 has two leftward bent portions 41 formed respectivelyat its upper and lower ends. The leftward bent portions 41 have aleft-to-right width equal to the left-to-right thickness of the inflowmember 16 and the outflow member 17. The right outer side faces of theseinflow and outflow members 16, 17 are positioned within an upwardextension of the plane of the side plate 26. The upper leftward bentportion 41 is integrally provided with an upward bent portion 42 at itsinner end, and the lower leftward bent portion 41 is integrally providedwith a downward bent portion 43 at its inner end. The boundary betweenthe upward bent portion 42 and the leftward bent portion 41 has a slitof predetermined length extending from each of the front and rear endsof the upward bent portion 42, and the front and rear end portions ofthe upward bent portions 42 are bent rightward. The rightward bentportions 44 are equal to the leftward bent portion 41 in left-to-rightwidth, and have a vertical length equal to the distance between theupper leftward bent portion 41 and the lower end of the outflow member17. The rightward bent portions 44 serve as covering members for closingthe space between the outflow member 17 and the upper leftward bentportion 41 of the side plate 26.

The evaporator 1 is fabricated by tacking the components in combinationand brazing the tacked assembly collectively.

The evaporator 1 is housed in a case C provided in the compartment of avehicle, for example, of a motor vehicle. Along with a compressor and acondenser, the evaporator 1 constitutes a refrigeration cycle, which isused as a motor vehicle air conditioner. Since the right outer sidefaces of the refrigerant inflow member 16 and outflow member 17 arepositioned in an upward extension of the plane of the side plate 26, thecase C having the evaporator 1 housed therein has no useless space inits interior as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. If the evaporator 1 iscompacted, the case C can be small-sized. Consequently, an enlargedspace is made available to ensure the comfort of the vehicle compartmentalthough the vehicle body is limited in size.

With the evaporator 1 described, a two-layer refrigerant of vapor-liquidmixture phase flowing through a compressor, condenser and expansionvalve is sent into the refrigerant inflow member 16 through the inletpipe and admitted into the refrigerant inlet header 5 via the throughhole 37 of the inflow member 16 and the refrigerant inlet 14. Therefrigerant flowing into the inlet header 5 dividedly flows into thefront refrigerant passageways 21 of all the refrigerant passing bodies 2communicating with the inlet header 5, flows down the passageways 21into the first intermediate header 7, and then flows leftward into thesecond intermediate header 8. The refrigerant flowing into the secondintermediate header 8 dividedly flows into the front passageways 21 ofall the refrigerant passing bodies 2 in communication with the secondintermediate header 8, and flows up the passageways 21 into the thirdintermediate header 3. The refrigerant in the header 3 flows through thecommunication bulging portions 35 of the flat hollow bodies 19D into thefourth intermediate header 10, dividedly flows into the rear refrigerantpassageways 22 of all the refrigerant passing bodies 2 communicatingwith the fourth intermediate header 10, flows down the passageways 22into the fifth intermediate header 11, then flows rightward into thesixth intermediate header 12. The refrigerant flowing into the header 12dividedly flows into the rear refrigerant passageways 22 of all therefrigerant passing bodies 2 communicating with the sixth intermediateheader 12, flows up the passageways 22 into the outlet header 6. Therefrigerant in the outlet header 6 enters the outflow member 17 via theoutlet 15 and the through hole 39 and is sent out through the outletpipe. While flowing through the passageways 21, 22 of the refrigerantpassing bodies 2, the refrigerant is subjected to heat exchange with theair flowing through the air flow clearances in the direction indicatedby the arrow X in FIGS. 1 and 9 and flows out in the form of a vaporphase. At this time, the rightward bent portions 44 serving as coveringmembers prevent the air from flowing through the space between the lowerend of the outflow member 17 and the upper leftward bent portion 31 ofthe side plate 26. The outflow member 17 also prevents air from flowingthrough a space inside the case C around the heat exchange core 4.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Throughout the drawings,i.e., FIGS. 1 to 11, like parts will be designated by like referencenumerals and will not be described repeatedly. In the description ofEmbodiment 2, the left- and right-hand sides of FIG. 10 will be referredto as “left” and “right.”

FIGS. 10 and 11 show an evaporator 50, which comprises a refrigerantinlet-outlet tank 51 of aluminum and a refrigerant turn tank 52 ofaluminum which are arranged as vertically spaced apart, and a heatexchange core 53 provided between the two tanks 51, 52.

The refrigerant inlet-outlet tank 51 comprises a refrigerant inletheader 54 positioned on the front side (the downstream side with respectto the direction of flow of air), and a refrigerant outlet header 55positioned on the rear side (the upstream side with respect to the flowof air). The refrigerant turn tank 52 comprises a refrigerant inflowheader 56 (intermediate header) positioned on the front side, and arefrigerant outflow header 57 (intermediate header) positioned on therear side.

The inlet header 54 has a refrigerant inlet 14 at its right end, and theoutlet header 55 has a refrigerant outlet 15 at its right end. Arefrigerant inflow aluminum member 16 is connected to the inlet 14, anda refrigerant outflow aluminum member 17 to the outlet 15.

The heat exchange core 53 comprises tube groups 59 in the form of aplurality of rows, i.e., two rows in the present embodiment, as arrangedin the front-rear direction, each tube group 59 comprising a pluralityof heat exchange tubes 58 (refrigerant passing bodies) arranged inparallel in the left-right direction, i.e., laterally of the evaporator,at a spacing. The heat exchange tubes 58 of the front tube group 59 haveupper and lower ends joined respectively to the inlet header 54 and theinflow header 56. The heat exchange tubes 58 of the rear tube group 59have upper and lower ends joined respectively to the outlet header 55and the outflow header 57. The spaces between respective adjacent pairsof heat exchange tubes 58 of the tube groups 59 serve as air passingclearances. First corrugated fins 61 having crest portions and furrowportions extending in the front-rear direction are arranged in the airpassing clearances, and are each brazed to the tubes 58 adjacentthereto. A side plate 62 is disposed outside the heat exchange tubes 58at the left ends of the tube groups 59 and spaced apart from the endtubes 58. A first corrugated fin 61 having crest portions and furrowportions extending in the front-rear direction is disposed also in thespace between the side plate 62 and the end tubes 58 which space servesas an air passing clearance, and is brazed to the end tubes 58 and theside plate 62. The heat exchange tubes 58 at the right ends of the tubegroups 59 are provided, except for the upper portions thereof, with aside plate 26 as spaced apart from the end tubes 58, and the spacebetween the side plate 62 and the end tubes 58 also serves as an airpassing clearance. A second corrugated fin 63 having crest portions andfurrow portions extending in the front-rear direction is provided inthis clearance and brazed to the end tubes 58 and the side plate 26.

The refrigerant inlet-outlet tank 51 comprises a platelike first member64 made of an aluminum brazing sheet having a brazing material layerover opposite surfaces thereof and having the heat exchange tubes 58joined thereto, a second member 65 of bare aluminum extrudate andcovering the upper side of the first member 64, and aluminum caps 66, 67made of an aluminum bare material and joined to the respective ends ofthe members 64, 65 for closing left and right end openings.

The first member 64 has at each of the front and rear side portionsthereof a curved portion 68 in the form of a circular arc of smallcurvature in cross section and bulging downward at its midportion. Thecurved portion 68 has a plurality of tube insertion slits 69 elongatedforward or rearward and arranged at a spacing in the lateral direction.Each corresponding pair of slits 69 in the front and rear curvedportions 68 are in the same position with respect to the lateraldirection. The front edge of the front curved portion 68 and the rearedge of the rear curved portion 68 are integrally provided withrespective upstanding walls 68 a extending over the entire length of themember 64. The first member 64 includes between the two curved portions68 a flat portion 71 having a plurality of through holes 72 arranged ata spacing in the lateral direction.

The second member 65 is generally m-shaped in cross section and openeddownward and comprises front and rear two walls 73 extending laterally,a partition wall 74 provided in the midportion between the two walls 73and extending laterally to divide the interior of the refrigerantinlet-outlet tank 51 into front and rear two spaces, and two generallycircular-arc connecting walls 75 bulging upward and integrallyconnecting the partition wall 74 to the respective front and rear walls73 at their upper ends. The front and rear wall 73 of the second member65 and the partition wall 74 are integrally interconnected at theirlower ends by a flow dividing resistance plate 76 over the entire lengthof the member 65 for separating the interior of the outlet header 55into upper and lower two spaces 55 a, 55 b.

The resistance plate 76 has laterally elongated refrigerant passingoblong holes 77 formed therein at a rear portion thereof other than theleft and right end portions of the plate and arranged at a spacinglaterally thereof.

The partition wall 74 of the second member 65 has a lower end projectingdownward beyond the lower ends of the front and rear walls 73 and isintegrally provided with a plurality of projections 74 a projectingdownward from the lower edge of the wall 74, arranged at a spacing inthe lateral direction and fitted into the through holes 72 of the firstmember 64. The projections 74 a are formed by cutting away specifiedportions of the partition wall 74.

The second member 65 is produced by extruding the front and rear walls73, partition wall 74, connecting walls 75 and flow dividing resistanceplate 76 in the form of an integral piece, thereafter subjecting theextrudate to press work to form the refrigerant passing holes 77 in theresistance plate 76, and further cutting away portions of the partitionwall 74 to form the projections 74 a.

The caps 66, 67 are made from a bare material as by press work, forgingor cutting, each have a recess facing laterally inward for thecorresponding left or right ends of the first and second members 64, 65to fit in. The right cap 67 has through holes, i.e., the refrigerantinlet 14 in communication with the inlet header 54 and the refrigerantoutlet 15 communicating with the upper space 55 a of the outlet header55. The inlet 14 is oblong and elongated in the front-rear direction,while the outlet 15 is oblong and elongated in an upwardly rearwardlydirection inclined with respect to a vertical. Although not shown, theinlet 14 and the outlet 15 of the right cap are surrounded by respectiveflanges integral with the cap, projecting rightward and fittable intorespective through holes 37 in the inflow member 16 and the outflowmember 17.

The two members 64, 65 are brazed to each other utilizing the brazingmaterial layer of the first member 64, with the projections 74 a of thesecond member 65 inserted in the respective holes 72 of the first member64 and with the front and rear upstanding walls 68 a of the first member64 in engagement with the front and rear walls 73 of the second member65. The two caps 66, 67 are further brazed to the first and secondmembers 64, 65 using a brazing material sheet. Thus, the inlet-outlettank 51 is made. The portion of the tank forwardly of the partition wall74 of the second member 65 serves as the refrigerant inlet header 54,and the portion thereof rearwardly of the partition wall 74 as therefrigerant outlet header 55.

The refrigerant turn tank 52 comprises a platelike first member 78 madeof aluminum brazing sheet having a brazing material layer over oppositesurfaces thereof and having the heat exchange tubes 58 joined thereto, asecond member 79 made of bare aluminum extrudate and covering the lowerside of the first member 78, and aluminum caps 81 for closing left andright opposite end openings.

The refrigerant turn tank 52 has a top surface 52 a which is in the formof a circular-arc in cross section in its entirety such that themidportion thereof with respect to the front-rear direction is thehighest portion 82 which is gradually lowered toward the front and rearsides. The tank 52 is provided in its front and rear opposite sideportions with grooves 83 extending from the front and rear oppositesides of the highest portion 82 of the top surface 52 a to front andrear opposite side surfaces 52 b, respectively, and arranged laterallyat a spacing.

The first member 78 has a circular-arc cross section bulging upward atits midportion with respect to the forward or rearward direction and isprovided with a depending wall 78 a formed at each of the front and rearside edges thereof integrally therewith and extending over the entirelength of the member 78. The upper surface of the first member 78 servesas the top surface 52 a of the refrigerant turn tank 52, and the outersurface of the depending wall 78 a as the front or rear side surface 52b of the tank 52. The grooves 83 are formed in each of the front andrear side portions of the first member 78 and extend from the highestportion 82 in the midportion of the member 78 with respect to thefront-rear direction to the lower end of the depending wall 78 a. Ineach of the front and rear side portions of the first member 78 otherthan the highest portion 82 in the midportion thereof, tube insertionslits 84 elongated in the front-rear direction are formed betweenrespective adjacent pairs of grooves 83. Each corresponding pair offront and rear tube insertion slits 84 are in the same position withrespect to the lateral direction. The first member 78 has a plurality ofthrough holes 85 formed in the highest portion 82 in the midportionthereof and arranged laterally at a spacing. The depending walls 78 a,grooves 83, tube insertions slits 84 and through holes 85 of the firstmember 78 are formed at the same time by making the member 78 from analuminum brazing sheet by press work.

The second member 79 is generally w-shaped in cross section and openedupward, and comprises front and rear two walls 86 curved upwardlyoutwardly forward and rearward, respectively, and extending laterally, avertical partition wall 87 provided at the midportion between the twowalls 86, extending laterally and dividing the interior of therefrigerant turn tank 52 into front and rear two spaces, and twoconnecting walls 88 integrally connecting the partition wall 87 to therespective front and rear walls 86 at their lower ends. The partitionwall 87 is provided with a plurality of projections 87 a projectingupward from the upper edge thereof integrally therewith, arrangedlaterally at a spacing and fitted into the respective through holes 85in the first member 78. The partition wall 87 has refrigerant passingcutouts 87 b formed in its upper edge between respective adjacent pairsof projections 87 a. The projections 87 a and the cutouts 87 b areformed by cutting away specified portions of the partition wall 87.

The second member 79 is produced by extruding the front and rear walls86, partition wall 87 and connecting walls 88 as an integral piece andcutting the partition wall 87 to form the projections 87 a and cutouts87 b.

The caps 81 are made from a bare material as by press work, forging orcutting, and each have a recess facing laterally inward for thecorresponding left or right ends of the first and second members 78, 79to fit in.

The two members 78, 79 are brazed to each other utilizing the brazingmaterial layer of the first member 78, with the projections 87 a of thesecond member 79 inserted through the respective holes 85 and with thefront and rear depending walls 78 a of the first member 78 in engagementwith the front and rear walls 86 of the second member 79. The two caps81 are further brazed to the first and second members 78, 79 using abrazing material sheet. In this way, the refrigerant turn tank 52 isformed. The portion of the second member 79 forwardly of the partitionwall 87 serves as the inflow header 56, and the portion thereofrearwardly of the partition wall 87 as the outflow header 57. Theupper-end openings of the cutouts 87 b in the partition wall 87 of thesecond member 79 are closed with the first member 78.

The heat exchange tubes 58 providing the front and rear tube groups 59are each made of a bare material in the form of an aluminum extrudate.Each tube 58 is flat, has a large width in the front-rear direction andis provided in its interior with a plurality of refrigerant channels(not shown) extending longitudinally of the tube and arranged inparallel. The tube 58 has front and rear opposite end walls which areeach in the form of an outwardly bulging circular arc. Eachcorresponding pair of heat exchange tube 58 of the front tube group 59and heat exchange tube 58 of the rear tube group 59 are in the sameposition with respect to the left-right direction, i.e., the lateraldirection, have their upper end portions placed into tube insertionslits 69 in the first member 64 of the refrigerant inlet-outlet tank 51and are brazed to the first member 64 utilizing the brazing materiallayer of the first member 64, with the tube upper ends projecting intothe tank 51. These tubes 58 have their lower end portions placed intotube insertion slits 84 in the first member 78 of the refrigerant turntank 52 and are brazed to the first member 78 utilizing the brazingmaterial layer of the first member 78, with the tube lower endsprojecting into the tank 52.

In place of the heat exchange tube 58 of aluminum extrudate, an electricresistance welded tube of aluminum may be used which has a plurality ofrefrigerant channels formed therein by inserting inner fins into thetube. Also usable is a tube which is made from a plate prepared from analuminum brazing sheet having an aluminum brazing material layer onopposite sides thereof by rolling work and which comprises two flat wallforming portions joined by a connecting portion, a side wall formingportion formed on each flat wall forming portion integrally therewithand projecting from one side edge thereof opposite to the connectingportion, and a plurality of partition forming portions projecting fromeach flat wall forming portion integrally therewith and arranged at aspacing widthwise thereof, by bending the plate into the shape of ahairpin at the connecting portion and brazing the side wall formingportions to each other in butting relation to form partition walls bythe partition forming portions. The corrugated fins to be used in thiscase are those made from a bare material.

The first corrugated fin 61 is made from an aluminum brazing sheethaving a brazing material layer on opposite sides thereof by shaping thesheet into a wavy form. Louvers are formed as arranged in parallel inthe front-rear direction in the portions of the wavy sheet which connectcrest portions thereof to furrow portions thereof. The corrugated fins61 are used in common for the front and rear tube groups 59. The widthof the fin 61 in the front-rear direction is approximately equal to thedistance from the front edge of the heat exchange tube 58 in the fronttube group 59 to the rear edge of the corresponding heat exchange tube58 in the rear tube group 59. Instead of one corrugated fin serving forboth the front and rear tube groups 59 in common, a corrugated fin maybe provided between each adjacent pair of heat exchange tubes 58 of eachtube group 59.

The second corrugated fin 63 is made from an aluminum brazing sheethaving a brazing material layer on opposite sides thereof by shaping thesheet into a wavy form. Louvers are formed as arranged in parallel inthe front-rear direction in the portions of the wavy sheet which connectcrest portions thereof to furrow portions thereof. The corrugated fin 63is used in common for the front and rear tube groups 59. The width ofthe fin 63 in the front-rear direction is approximately equal to thedistance from the front edge of the heat exchange tube 58 in the fronttube group 59 to the rear edge of the corresponding heat exchange tube58 in the rear tube group 59. Instead of one corrugated fin 63 servingfor both the front and rear tube groups 59 in common, a corrugated finmay be provided between each adjacent pair of heat exchange tubes 58 ofeach tube group 59.

The side plate 26 and the second corrugated fin 63 have upper endspositioned below the inlet header 54 and the outlet header 55,permitting the outer side surface (right side surface) of the two headexchange tubes 58 at the right end to be partly left exposed.

With Embodiment 2, the right side faces of the inflow member 16 and theoutflow member 17 are positioned also in an upward extension of theplane of the side plate 26.

The evaporator 50 is fabricated by tacking the components in combinationand brazing the tacked assembly collectively.

The evaporator 50 is housed in a case (not shown) provided, in thecompartment of a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle. Along with acompressor and a condenser, the evaporator constitutes a refrigerationcycle for use as a motor vehicle air conditioner. The right outer sidefaces of the refrigerant inflow member 16 and outflow member 17 arepositioned in an upward extension of the plane of the side plate 26, sothat when the evaporator 50 is housed in a case, the case has no uselessspace in its interior as is the case with Embodiment 1. If theevaporator 50 is compacted, the case can be made smaller in size.Consequently, an enlarged space is made available to ensure the comfortof the vehicle compartment although the vehicle body is limited in size.

With the evaporator 1 described, a two-layer refrigerant of vapor-liquidmixture phase flowing through a compressor, condenser and expansionvalve is sent into the refrigerant inflow member 16 through the inletpipe and admitted into the inlet header 54 of the inlet-outlet tank 51via the through hole 37 of the inflow member 16 and the refrigerantinlet 14. The refrigerant then dividedly flows into the refrigerantchannels of all the heat exchange tubes 58 of the front tube group 59.

The refrigerant flowing into the channels of all the heat exchange tubes58 flows down the channels, ingresses into the inflow header 56 of therefrigerant turn tank 52, and flows through the cutouts 87 b of thepartition wall 87 into the outflow header 57. The refrigerant in theoutflow header 57 dividedly flows into the refrigerant channels of allthe heat exchange tubes 58 of the rear tube group 59, changes its courseand passes upward through the channels into the lower space 55 b of theoutlet header 55 of the inlet-outlet tank 51.

Subsequently, the refrigerant flows through the refrigerant passingholes 77 of the resistance plate 76 into the upper space 55 a of theoutlet header 55, flows into the outflow member 17 via the outlet 15 andthe through hole 39 and is sent out through the outlet pipe. Whileflowing through the heat exchange tubes 58, the refrigerant is subjectedto heat exchange with the air flowing through the air passing clearancesin the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 10 and flows out ofthe evaporator in the form of a vapor phase.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention provides an evaporator which is suitable for usein a motor vehicle air conditioner which is a refrigeration cycle to beinstalled in motor vehicles. The evaporator can be housed in a casewithout leaving any useless space inside the case, with the result thatthe case can be made smaller in size.

1. An evaporator comprising a heat exchange core having a plurality offlat refrigerant passing bodies arranged in parallel at a spacing withtheir widths oriented in a front-rear direction and first corrugatedfins arranged between respective adjacent pairs of refrigerant passingbodies, and a refrigerant inlet header and a refrigerant outlet headerarranged on the upper side of the heat exchange core side by side in thefront-rear direction and each having at least one end positioned at awidthwise outer end of the heat exchange core, the inlet header having arefrigerant inlet at said one end thereof positioned at the widthwiseouter end of the heat exchange core, the outlet header having arefrigerant outlet at said one end alongside the inlet, a second finbeing disposed outside the refrigerant passing body positioned at saidwidthwise outer end of the heat exchange core, a side plate beingdisposed externally of the second fin, the evaporator being so adaptedthat a refrigerant flows into the inlet header through the inlet,returns to the outlet header after flowing through all the refrigerantpassing bodies and is sent out from the outlet, the second fin and theside plate having respective upper ends so positioned as to permit anupper portion outer surface of the core-end refrigerant passing body tobe exposed, a refrigerant inflow member and a refrigerant outflow memberbeing arranged on the core-end refrigerant passing body at an externalportion thereof above the second fin and the side plate, the inflowmember being connected to the inlet of the inlet header, the outflowmember being connected to the outlet of the outlet header, the inflowmember and the outflow member having respective outer side facespositioned laterally externally of the heat exchange core and positionedwithin an upward extension of the plane of an outer side face of theside plate or inwardly of the extension.
 2. An evaporator according toclaim 1 wherein the inflow member and the outflow member each comprise atube which is open at one end and closed at the other end and has a pipejoint opening at the open end, and the inflow member and the outflowmember are connected, each at a peripheral wall portion thereof towardthe closed end, to the inlet of the inlet header and the outlet of theoutlet header respectively.
 3. An evaporator according to claim 1wherein an outwardly projecting flange is formed around each of theinlet of the inlet header and the outlet of the outlet header, and theinflow member and the outflow member are joined respectively to theinlet header and the outlet header with the flange fitted in a throughhole formed in a peripheral wall of each of the inflow member and theoutflow member.
 4. An evaporator according to claim 3 wherein the inletof the inlet header and the outlet of the outlet header are each oblong,and the through hole formed in the peripheral wall of each of the inflowmember and the outflow member is an oblong hole for the flange aroundeach of the inlet and the outlet to fit in.
 5. An evaporator accordingto claim 1 wherein one of the inflow member and the outflow member whichis positioned in front of the other extends forward from a closed endthereof, and the other member extends forward from a closed end thereofas bent to clear said one member in front.
 6. An evaporator according toclaim 1 wherein one of the inflow member and the outflow member which ispositioned in front of the other extends forward straight from a closedend thereof, and the other member is curved downwardly forward from aclosed end thereof and has an outer end extending straight forward. 7.An evaporator according to claim 1 wherein the side plate is provided atthe upper end thereof with a portion bent toward the refrigerant passingbody, and the inflow member and the outflow member are rectangular incross section and have their outer side faces positioned within theupward extension of the plane of the outer side face of the side plate,a covering member being provided for closing a space between theupper-end bent portion of the side plate and a lower end of one of theinflow member and the outflow member which is positioned in the rear ofthe other when the space is seen from the front.
 8. An evaporatoraccording to claim 7 wherein the side plate has an upward bent portionintegral with a free end of the bent portion, and the covering member isprovided integrally with at least one of front and rear side edges ofthe upward bent portion.
 9. An evaporator according to claim 1 whichcomprises a plurality of flat hollow bodies each comprising twovertically elongated rectangular plates brazed to each other alongperipheral edges thereof and having bulging refrigerant passagewayportions and bulging header forming portions continuous with oppositeends of the passageway portions of the plates, the flat hollow bodiesbeing arranged side by side with opposed outer faces of correspondingheader forming portions in contact with each other, the correspondingheader forming portions of each adjacent pair of flat hollow bodiesbeing joined to each other at their outer faces, the refrigerant passingbodies of the heat exchange core being provided by the passagewayportions of the flat hollow bodies.
 10. An evaporator according to claim9 wherein the plurality of flat hollow bodies are arranged in successionfrom the widthwise outer end of the heat exchange core and have bulgingheader forming portions providing the inlet header and the outletheader.
 11. An evaporator according to claim 1 wherein each of therefrigerant passing bodies of the heat exchange core comprises a tubehaving a plurality of parallel refrigerant channels.
 12. An evaporatoraccording to claim 11 which comprises a plurality of intermediateheaders in addition to the inlet header and the outlet header, and twotube groups each comprising refrigerant passing bodies arranged at aspacing in at least one row are arranged respectively between the inletheader and one of the intermediate headers opposed thereto and betweenthe outlet header and another one of the intermediate headers opposedthereto, the refrigerant passing bodies of each of the tube groupshaving opposite ends joined to the respective corresponding headersopposed to each other.
 13. An evaporator according to claim 12 whereinthe inlet header and the outlet header are provided by dividing interiorof a refrigerant inlet-outlet tank into front and rear two portions by apartition wall.
 14. An evaporator according to claim 13 wherein theinlet-outlet tank comprises a first member having the refrigerantpassing bodies joined thereto, a second member brazed to the firstmember at a portion thereof opposite to the refrigerant passing bodies,and caps brazed to respective opposite ends of the first and secondmembers, the partition wall being integral with the second member, oneof the caps being provided with the inlet and the outlet.
 15. Arefrigeration cycle comprising a compressor, a condenser and anevaporator, the evaporator being an evaporator according to claim
 1. 16.A vehicle having installed therein a refrigeration cycle according toclaim 15 as an air conditioner.